In 2023, Rainbow Six Siege celebrates its eighth anniversary, but it’s still a top-tier esports title that has no trouble bringing in hundreds of thousands of viewers. It’s widely regarded as one of the best first-person shooters in the esports scene, and of course, each tournament in the space is often dominated by the best R6 players the world has ever seen.
There’s a lot to take into consideration when it comes to confirming who the best R6 players in the business truly are. From those that lift world championship trophies to the rookie players that burst onto the scene and make a dramatic impact, it can often end up being either subjective or totally data-driven when defining the best R6 player of all time.
Source: Gamers8
So, that’s why we’ve assembled this guide. With this page in hand, you’ll be able to identify the best R6 player in the world and determine exactly why they’re worthy of that accolade.
Best R6 Players in Esports in 2023
We’ve narrowed the list down to just five competitors – there are far too many top-tier players in the Rainbow Six space to list them all, so let’s go the other way. This super-specific list identifies those who are truly considered the best Rainbow Six players in the world – as of right now.
Who is the best R6 player? Let’s find out.
5. Luccas ‘Paluh’ Molina
Luccas ‘Paluh’ Molina
Paluh is a fantastic competitor, but he’s yet to win anything substantial in 2023 – and there are expectations that this fact will change as the year pushes on. He’s easily one of the most consistent fraggers in Rainbow Six, and even if he doesn’t win an event, he’s almost guaranteed to put down some top-tier statistics.
He’s had a few tough fights over the years that have left him with some high-placed finishes – but securing first place has been an issue for the most part. That hasn’t stopped Paluh from sharpening his skills to constantly improve, and it’s something that remains true going into 2023.
Since 2018, Paluh has been a competitor fighting for Team Liquid in Brazil.
4. Troy ‘Canadian’ Jaroslawski
Troy ‘Canadian’ Jaroslawski
Canadian is one of the more veteran players in the Rainbow Six scene, but in a twisted way, he shouldn’t even be a competitor. He announced his retirement around 2021, but owing to an internal team issue, he was forced to step back up to the plate – and he absolutely smashed it. He’s inspirational, and many aspiring pros love to use his pro Rainbow Six settings.
With a history that stretches back to the beginning of the R6 esports ecosystem, Canadian has real, tangible roots in the game. He’s one of the winningest players in the business, boasting two Six Invitational wins and a chip he picked up at the Six Charlotte Major in 2022.
He’s the IGL for DarkZero Esports at the time of publishing, and he’s absolutely one of the best R6 players in the world.
3. Matthew ‘Achieved’ Solomon
Achieved is another veteran competitor who still has it where it counts. He has been around the houses in the Rainbow Six esports scene and has flown a flag for the likes of DarkZero, TSM, Excelerate, Orgless, and Vertical.
In 2022, while playing for TSM, he secured a Six Invitational victory, and in the years before that, he placed T4 during his other Six Invitational appearances. His in-game abilities with the likes of Buck and Sledge are legendary, and he’s got plenty left to prove in 2023.
At the time of writing, Achieved competes under the DarkZero Esports banner.
2. Jake ‘Virtue’ Grannan
Jake ‘Virtue’ Grannan
Jake Grannan – otherwise known as ‘Virtue’ – is a unique competitor hailing from Australia. He has been neck-deep in the Rainbow Six esports scene since 2018, but it’s only recently that he’s found his feet as a legitimate championship-grade player with something to prove, and now he’s rising through the Rainbow Six ranks.
In February 2023, Virtue – alongside the rest of G2 Esports – stormed to success at the Six Invitational, dominating the competition to ultimately lift the trophy. It was an indicator of things to come for Virtue, who now boasts high expectations in 2023 and is believed to be shaping up as one of the best R6 players in the game.
Virtue currently competes for G2 Esports, a team that he’s represented since 2020.
1. Stéphane ‘Shaiiko’ Lebleu
Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu
Shaiiko is often considered to be the best R6 player of all time. Once upon a time, he was actually banned from competing following allegations of using macros, and for a while, people thought he’d tossed away a lucrative career.
But, following an intense comeback, he returned to the Rainbow Six scene and started to clear his name. Since exploding back onto the R6 esports circuit, Shaiiko has staked a claim to the Gamers8 tournament in Riyadh, won the Six Jonkoping Major, and beaten every other team in the European League – twice.
He is almost the highest-earning Rainbow Six player of all time, being edged out of the top spot by just a few thousand dollars. He’s also one of the most accomplished Rainbow Six content creators, with more than a quarter of a million followers on Twitch. If you’re at all interested in Rainbow Six betting, you’d do well to back Shaiiko.
At the time of writing, Shaiiko plays for Team BDS, which he has represented since 2019.
Honorable Mentions – Best R6 Player by Platform
It’s tough to narrow down the best player for each platform, especially for consoles. But we will give it a try in the future.
Best PS4 R6 Player
You can’t really pull the best PS4 R6 player from the catalogue of ‘real’ professional players. Instead, you can make use of a stat-tracking site, for example.
Best PC R6 Player
As our list of the best Rainbow Six players focuses on esports competitors and those competitors use the PC platform, it makes sense to say that Shaiiko is the best PC R6 player.
Best Xbox R6 Player
Like the PlayStation 4 players, the best Xbox player is hard to nail down, as no Rainbow Six esports are really played out on the platform. We’d recommend checking out the stat-tracking site we linked above to draw your own conclusions.
Gustavo “Psycho” Rigal
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shaiiko The Best R6 Player?
In our opinion, yes – Shaiiko is the best R6 player in 2023. He is backstory is legendary, and his redemption journey has seen him go – quite literally – from zero to hero. In 2023, he’s expected to achieve great things under Team BDS.
Is Spoit The Best R6 Player?
Spoit could become the best R6 player, but he needs more time in the business to flesh out his role. He’s a prodigy who has been competing since the age of fifteen, and at eighteen years of age, he won the Six Berlin Major, but there’s a lot of legwork yet to be secured before he can be considered ‘the best’.
Who Is The Best Ash Player in R6?
Canadian is probably the best Ash player in Rainbow Six. He favours the attack-focused character that has been in Rainbow Six since launch, much like Virtue does, and he’s considered one of the best of the best when it comes to controlling Ash.
Who Is The Best Smoke Player in R6?
Smoke – one of the most recognisable characters in Rainbow Six – is best piloted by the likes of Kamikaze. This Brazilian player narrowly missed out on being included in this list, as he’s a fine competitor with a Six Invitational win in his pocket. As of 2022, Kamikaze parted ways with his team, Ninjas in Pyjamas, after four years on the roster.
Rainbow Six finished up the last big event of 2021 with the Six Invitational being won by Ninjas In Pyjamas. It showed off some of the best Rainbow Six stack players up against each other. However, the new year’s events are already beginning, and there are already players who have demonstrated their talents across the game.
If you’re looking at Rainbow Six betting or just at which teams are worth watching, it can be helpful to look towards the best R6 players to watch in 2022 and how they independently perform.
Deciding who the best R6 Players in 2022 are isn’t the simplest task. This is definitely a team game. No single player can succeed without a great squad and co-ordination. However, individual metrics and performance can be looked at to highlight players. This list isn’t fully objective, just because it is difficult to separate a player form the squad. Looking at the metrics and performance that are available though, these are definitely some highlights that are worth watching.
Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski
Rainbow Six – Six Invitational Players to Watch
There are going to be loads of great teams competing in Rainbow Six over 2022. The most recent events saw some great performances around a lot of players too. However, among these teams, there are some that really stand out. Some players look sure to make an impression over the next year given their recent performances. If you’re looking for individual players, these are the best R6 Players to watch in 2022:
5. Canadian – Spacestation Gaming
Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski came back to the game only months after announcing his retirement from the title. Due to teammate Luke “Luke” Slota having passport issues ahead of the SI 2021 event, Canadian had to un-retire and lend his expertise to his former roster. In doing so, he became one of the most anticipated players at the Six Invitational, but mainly for the story that came with him.
He is a player who retired from Rainbow Six after claiming he “no longer has the same passion and motivation for the game”. In the past, he’d been a two-time world champion. He didn’t place quite as well in the more recent tournaments but he’s still one of the strongest players in the game. Despite the ups and downs, Canadians unique story and history with the game make him one of the R6 players to watch in 2022.
4. Muzi – Ninjas in Pyjamas
Muzi is a particularly talented player but he is from a region that typically doesn’t pull in the most attention. This might make him a bit of a dark horse for the game, but he is an important part of one of the best teams in the game at the moment.
Muzi was part of the NiP team that won the most recent Six Invitational. His role in the team is an Entry Fragger. This isn’t as major as Pyscho. However, he was a key part of the victory and he is one of the best entry fraggers around at the moment. As the reigning champions, Muzi has a lot to live up to over the course of the year. However, given his past strength he still looks like one of the best R6 players to watch in 2022.
3. Shaiiko – BDS Esport
Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu has one of the most interesting redemption stories in competitive Rainbow Six. He was banned from the competitive circuit for the game for two years between 2017 and 2019 for using macros. Despite the “cheating”, he was easily one of the best up and comers the game has seen and after he’s returned to the scene with BDS esports.
Shaiiko has helped BDS stay on top of the rankings for Rainbow Six teams. They didn’t fare as well at the most recent Six Invitational. However, Shaiiko’s skill has kept the team consistently achieving decent results over the long term.
Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu
2. Paluh – Team Liquid
Paluh has been one of the best players in Rainbow Six across recent tournaments and games. He’s a Brazilian player who is currently part of Team liquid. In the past this team has taken home prizes like 2nd at the Six Invitational 2021, 3-4th at the Six Mexico Major 2021, and 1st at the Brasileiräo 2021 Finals, one of the most recent events.
Paluh’s team didn’t win the prize at the Six Invitational. However, Paluh himself finished with some of the best stats across the event. He even won the MVP award for the whole tournament. This is definitely a testament to the player’s potential. While his team didn’t quite come together for the final matches, Paluh’s personal performance marks him as one of the best Rainbow Six players to watch in 2022.
1. Psycho – Ninjas in Pyjamas
Pyscho is a player who made a huge impact on the most recent six Invitational. He’s been active in the game since 2017 and playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas since 2018. Pyscho has been a big part of the team’s recent successes. His current role is an in-game leader for the team. Playing this role he was a sizeable part of NiP coming out victorious at the Six Invitational 2021.
Helping his squad to win the biggest event for the year in Rainbow Six definitely marks Pyscho out as one of the best R6 players to watch in 2022. He’s had some big successes in the past, but these recent accomplishments earn Pyscho his spot here.
These players are all standouts for the upcoming rounds of Rainbow Six. There looks to be a lot of major events on the horizon for the game with more in-person offline events than we’ve seen in a while. These are the players to watch if you’re looking at betting on Rainbow Six, but make sure you’re getting best odds for esports to make the most out of them.
Here is our archived rankings for the Best Rainbow Six Players in 2021. You can check it out to see how the rankings have changed and which players moved up and down the rankings.
1. Canadian – Spacestation Gaming
Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski come back to the game only months after announcing his retirement from the title. Due to teammate Luke “Luke” Slota having passport issues ahead of the SI 2021 event, Canadian had to un-retire and lend his expertise to his former roster. In doing so, he became one of the most anticipated players at the Six Invitational, but mainly for the story that is coming with him.
He is a player who retired from Rainbow Six after claiming he “no longer has the same passion and motivation for the game”. Being two-time world champion comes with a certain expectation as he returns to take another crack at the event he missed. Will this be a great return for the player or should he have stayed in retirement?
Either way, he’s definitely a player to watch at this event.
2. Shaiiko – BDS Esport
While we’re looking at returning Six Invitational players, Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu has one of the most interesting redemption stories in competitive Rainbow Six. He was banned from the competitive circuit for the game for two years between 2017 and 2019 for using macros.
Despite the “cheating”, he was easily one of the best up and comers the game has seen and after he’s return to the scene with BDS esports, Shaiiko has helped BDS stay on top of the world in competitive R6 for the past two seasons running. With BDS considered the main favorites, and the event taking place on home territory for Shaiiko, he’s easily one of the six Six Invitational players to watch.
3. Njr – DarkZero Esports
Njr is one of the younger player coming up in Rainbow Six. He has shown himself to be a mechanically skilled player, and his raw mechanics and skill within the game are clear. Whether this will translate to victory at the Six Invitational depends on his team, but he’s definitely a contender for one of the best players.
Only having joined DarkZero in February 2021, this will be his first Six Invitational as he represents a new generation of players coming into the scene with plenty to prove.
4. HysteRiX – Giants Gaming
Jeremy “HysteRiX” Mao Xuan Tan is an easy player to call out if you’re looking for individuals that are going to pop at the tournament. The Singaporean prodigy is one of the more impressive players out there, with a great kill average at recent tournaments, in terms of statistics. If his team can supply a similar contribution, he’ll be one of the top six invitational players.
Giants Gaming has struggled this year thus far, and SI 2021 is the best moment for a redemption arc for both HysteRiX and his crew.
5. JRDN – Giants Gaming
JRDN is a type of player who always entertains in esports. He’s young, he’s a bit of a prodigy and only just being old enough to take part in these events. Despite having less experience, he’s easily one of the most technically gifted players out there. As part of Giants Gaming, he’s clearly going to be one of the Six Invitational players to watch.
Together with HysterRiX they feed off each others energies to make both former Aerowolf and now Giants perform.
6. Muzi – Ninjas in Pyjamas
Muzi is a particularly talented player but he is from a region that typically doesn’t pull in the most attention. This might make him a bit of a dark horse at this event. He has been part of a great team, and really raised the standard for performance. This entire team is one to watch, but Muzi is definitely a stand-out player.
With NiP topping their group recently at Copa Elite Six, we saw plenty of what Muzi and the entire roster are able to do. If they can match their energy at Six Invitational it will be a true sight to behold.
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